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Child Predator/Transcript
Samuel Abbott: Hey, Adam, remember me? Going to school, huh? Adam Kemper (12 years old): Yeah. Abbott: Come on, I'll give you a ride. It's okay. It's on my way. Kemper: What are those for? Abbott: They're for your parents. Get in, I'll explain. Joan Watson: You're not dressed. You said you'd go jogging with me this morning. Sherlock Holmes: Doesn't sound like me. Watson: Have you been up all night? Holmes: I started digging through one of the files I keep on open serial murders after you'd gone to bed, and I lost track of time. Still losing track of it, as a matter of fact, so, no jogging. Sorry. Watson: I thought we both agreed that a little exercise would be a good addition to your sobriety regimen. Holmes: For future reference, when I say that I agree with you, it means I'm not listening. Watson: You know what else is great? Jazzercise. I'll get you some leg warmers, a headband. You'll look awesome. Holmes: I agree with you. Watson: The Balloon Man? Is that who you've been researching? Holmes: Yeah. Came to my attention while I was still living in London. New York's very own bogeyman. Obviously, you've heard of him. Watson: Yeah. He took his first victim from Cobble Hill about seven years ago. I was living just a few blocks away. Adam. Adam something. I think he's taken six kids since then? Holmes: Seven as of last night. Watson: What? Holmes: I heard it on my police scanner app around midnight. Ten-year-old Mariana Castillo snatched from her bedroom in Astoria, Queens, the abductor's signature batch of balloons left fluttering behind. I'd like to think that Fleet Street would have devised a more inventive sobriquet than "The Balloon Man," but I do enjoy the inadvertent E.E. Cummings reference. Watson: Well, if you only heard it on the scanner, then you haven't actually been assigned to the case. Holmes: Yet. Child abductions and serial murders mean psychiatric consultants and joint task forces, which in turn means that Gregson can't call me in until the police commissioner approves. And he doesn't get in until 8:30 a.m. Sharp. Add approximately three minutes for coffee, another six for a trip to the loo. Should be calling me in about, hmm, 15 minutes. Or sooner. Holmes (phone): Holmes. Crescent Street, Astoria. I'll be there presently. Holmes: I could have sworn I was wearing a shirt at some point. Captain Gregson: The girl's bedroom is in the back. Perp forced the lock on her window around 9:30 last night, took her, tied the balloons to her bed. Detective Bell: Mom's a painter. She went to a friend's gallery. Dad went to the bodega on the corner to get some wine around 9:45. Holmes: That's freshly broken. By the girl, presumably, grabbing for a handhold. Bell: That's good. She's a fighter. Holmes: If little girls could actually win fights against grown men, then, yeah, it would be a cause for great optimism. What's this? Bell: Parents are making a plea to the twist that took their kid. Holmes: They mustn't. Bell: Why not? Holmes: Excuse me. You can't do this. News Cameraman: We're live in ten, buddy, so if you wouldn't mind. Holmes: You don't understand. It's... Cameraman: We're on in ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three... Holmes: Look, I'm sorry. Cameraman:...Two, one. Hey. Bell: Sherlock! Holmes: I'm sorry. I warned him! Robert Castillo: What is this? Who are you? Holmes: I'm just the man who's trying to keep these people from killing your daughter. Gregson: Mr. Holmes is a consultant with the department, Mr. Castillo. Holmes: Daniel Peters, Kayla Jackson, Billy Crawford. Victims two, three and five of the Balloon Man. The only ones whose bodies were found. Forensics estimated he kept Daniel alive for a full day before burial, Kayla for half a day, Billy for almost two days. Why the discrepancy? Watson: Sherlock, they lost their daughter. I think... Holmes: Last night, I discovered a direct correlation between the quickness with which the killer dispatched his victims and the extent of their parents' media exposure. I could show you the spreadsheet, but in sum, the more interviews, the faster the children died. Sara Castillo: Is he right? Gregson: Usually. Robert: I don't understand. What does it matter how many interviews we do? Holmes: The Balloon Man feeds off the public grief of his victims' families. You nourish him, he'll get bored, end the game. Keep him hungry, we might have two days. You want to get your little girl back? It's simple. You do everything I say. Watson: Kemper. Holmes: Hmm? Watson: That was the name of the Balloon Man's first victim. Adam Kemper. I just remembered. The police found those balloons on the sidewalk where he'd taken Adam, the ones that said, "Thank you." Like Adam's parents had given him some sort of gift. I read all the articles over the years. I know it destroys the victims' families, but being here in person is just... Holmes: Perhaps you'd like to care outside. Watson: I'm fine, thanks. I just... Holmes: No, it's not an expression of concern. It's a request. You're distracting me. Watson: I'm distracting you. Because clearly, this is all about you. Excuse me! Holmes: No, no, no, no, it's okay. Bell: Mr. Castillo, you can't blame yourself for what happened. Holmes: Actually, he can. Bell: Excuse me? Holmes: Not for your daughter's abduction, of course. The kidnapper would have found a way to take her eventually. But you can and should blame yourself for impeding our investigation. Robert: I told you everything. Holmes: If everything includes one very big lie. Where's the wine that you claimed you were buying when your daughter was taken last night? Robert: In your hand. Holmes: And there's the lie. Bodegas put the price tag on the cap itself. It saves stacking time. Tag, bottom. You, liar. Obviously, you bought this at another time, presumably from the liquor store on Atlantic where you purchased the case of Prosecco you have in your pantry. The bottle was already in your fridge, so it provided an effective cover as to why you were really out of the house. Tell us her name, Mr. Castillo, right now. Gregson: Whose name? Holmes: His mistress. There's no point in trying to deny it. Your lemon press gave you away. Well, presses, to be precise. One old. One quite new, less than a year. The pattern repeats itself with your two corkscrews, the pepper mills. The older items belong to you and your wife. The doubles were bought by you when you moved into your own place on Long Island. Robert: How...? Holmes: I found a letter in your mail forwarded to you from a long-term stay hotel chain in Islip. I assume that you and your wife separated for a while, and then reconciled? Which brings me to your Caller ID. You took a 15-second call from a Long Island area code last night right before you stepped out of the house. Presumably, from the woman who precipitated your separation. She rang, you walked out of the house. Why else would you hide information from the police when you're clearly desperate to get your daughter back? Robert: When Sara and I were separated, I dated a co-worker. She called me last night, said she was in the neighborhood and needed to see me, but I swear, I only went out to tell her the she had to stay away for good. Sara: How could you not say anything? Holmes: Where did you meet her? Robert: On the street, a few houses down from here, but I swear, I didn't go into her car. I just talked to her through her window. Holmes: I'd like to speak with her. Robert: She had nothing to do with this. Holmes: Probably not, but can you think of anyone else who was parked on your block last night? 'Cause if she was waiting for you, I assume she was facing your house. If she was facing your house... Gregson: Maybe she saw something that could help us find the guy who took your daughter. Lori Thomas: I'm sorry. I just I can't believe I'm the reason that lunatic got his hands on Roberto's daughter. If I hadn't called him, then... Gregson: Now, Ms., Ms. Thomas, it's all right. Did you see or hear anything out of the ordinary? Thomas: I never got out of my car. Watson: So, what now? Do we go back to the Castillo house, talk to the parents more? Holmes: You're doing it again, talking. Watson: What? I'm not supposed to talk? Holmes: Situations like these, cases that require my total concentration. I talk to you, never the other way around. Watson: What in the hell? Holmes: Shh, shh. Thomas:...and I headed for the corner, and then um, some other car ran the stop sign, almost hit me. Holmes: This was approximately when? Never mind. I already know. 9:40. The vine that the girl managed to pull free from the side of the house, it means she was awake and struggling when Balloon Man took her. Bell: So? Holmes: So, examinations of the three victims whose bodies were recovered indicated that he chloroformed them. He got sloppy with Mariana Castillo, rushed things. Why? Because of the sirens. Gregson: What sirens? Holmes: Listening to my scanner last night, I heard a report that preceded Roberto Castillo's call to 911 by mere minutes. Some sort of domestic dispute. A squad car was dispatched to an address less than two blocks from the Castillo home, sirens blaring. Gregson: You think the perp panicked, and thought the sirens were for him. Bell: So he grabbed the girl and ran. Stashed her in his car, and then tore through the stop sign. Holmes: Right in front of Ms. Thomas here. Bell: The car that almost hit you, do you remember what it looked like? Thomas: Um, actually, it was a van. Holmes: It's a kidnapper's vehicle of choice. What else? Make? Model? Thomas: It happened so fast. Uh, I'm not really a car person. Holmes: Are you a color person? I'll get you started. Red? Blue? Black? Thomas: Brown. Dark brown. Bell: So, what are we looking for? Holmes: Home security camera? Neighbor with a photographic memory? Watson: Hey, care to explain what you said back at the station about, you know, you talking to me, not the other way around? Yes, well aware I'm doing it again. Holmes: I've found, over the years, that nothing clears up a difficult case so much as stating it to another person. I talk, they listen, and in talking, I make connections I may have otherwise missed. One-way street, not two. Watson: Who did you speak to back in London? Holmes: Oh, lots of people. Waitstaff, cabdrivers. The occasional prostitute. Better listeners than you might think. Watson: Right. Holmes: You don't look good. My appearance has always meant so much to me. Watson: You haven't eaten today, have you? No sleep, no food... Holmes: Will make Sherlock a dull boy. Watson: People in recovery have a tendency to relapse when they haven't eaten... Holmes: You know what, Watson? I take it all back. I'm beginning to find the chatter that accompanies your companionship extremely useful. A bit like white noise. It puts me in a state where I think, and I observe better. For example... Watson: What? If this is your idea of a brown van, then you're even more sleep-deprived than I thought. Holmes: Note the parking tickets. Hmm? It's been here for days. Yet there are small skid marks beneath each tire, indicating it's been moved several inches. Watson: Someone sideswiped it. Holmes: My money is on a speeding van driven by a panicked kidnapper. Watson: Well, the paint from the other car is supposed to be... Holmes: It's dark brown as per Ms. Thomas' description. Watson: But there's blue and white paint mixed in with the brown. Holmes: Means it's brown now, but was originally painted white and blue, a very distinctive white and blue as a matter of fact. Detective Bell. Bell: Excuse me. Holmes: We are looking for a decommissioned NYPD van, presumably sold at auction, then painted brown. It has a long scrape down one side where it struck this sedan. Issue the BOLO now, we may find the Balloon Man before lunch. Holmes: I'm not sleeping. I'm just reviewing the details of the case in my mind. Watson: I'm sorry, were you talking to me? 'Cause I thought I was just a cavernous expanse between two ears. Holmes: You mustn't be so sensitive, Watson. The service you're providing is quite valuable. For a brief stretch in London, I talked only to a phrenology bust I kept in my study. I named him Angus. Wasn't the same. I realized that when it came to listeners, I preferred animate to inanimate. Was quite a breakthrough, really. Watson: Angus. I'm glad I made it to the animate category. Gregson: Just got a hit on our BOLO. Gregson: Car Five, you still got the eye? Car Five: Yeah, driver's a male white wearing a hoodie. All I can make out. Gregson: Aviation One, you getting anything on the thermal imaging? Aviation One: Negative. We're too high to see if... Car Five: He made us. Heading north on 78th. Bell: Police! Hands up! Gregson: She's not here. Bell: Cap, that's not our guy. He would have been in sixth grade when Balloon Man took his first victim. Gregson: Hey, Holmes, what are you doing? Holmes. Holmes: Sorry, it's just that, well, according to that birthmark on his neck, you're quite right. This is not the man that took Adam Kemper back in 2005. This is Adam Kemper. Bell: Adam. Adam, please talk to me. Now, we know who you are, Adam, your fingerprints confirmed it, so come on, tell me how you ended up in that van. Gregson: We've got a psychiatrist coming, but I don't think it's going to make much difference. This kid just doesn't want to engage. Watson: Well, have you notified his parents? Gregson: Commissioner made the call. They're on their way. Should only take 'em an hour to fight through all the media outside. Holmes: Story of the century, this. Missing boy presumed dead, recovered after all these years. Watson: Well, the fact that he was found in a van that we thought belonged to the Balloon Man, that's obviously more than a coincidence, right? I read about a case like this. Police in Dubuque found a 15-year-old who'd been missing for seven years. Now, the man who had taken him had enrolled him in school. He even let him have friends over to the house. The boy never tried to leave because he had grown to sympathize with his captor. If that's what's happened here, it would explain why Adam was running from the police instead of to them. Holmes: Because he's actually grown to care for the lunatic. Watson: If Adam's still alive, maybe some of the other victims are, too. Holmes: Adam was special, his first. The Balloon Man's second and third victims are two of only three to be recovered. Their condition suggests that he rather liked the killing. After he had a taste, I don't believe he ever looked back. Question now is, what role did Adam play in their deaths? Watson: You think Adam helped him? Holmes: Well, you said it yourself, he sympathized with his captor. Question is, to what degree? Gregson: We did find him in that van. CSU is processing it for evidence to try and prove whether Mariana Castillo was inside. In the meantime, we've got Adam on auto theft, but if he doesn't start talking to us soon, we're going to run out of time to find the Castillo girl. Holmes: I want to talk to him. I think I can get through to him. Gregson: Holmes, this is a delicate situation. Holmes: And I can, on occasion, be indelicate, I'm well aware, but if you think I'd do anything to jeopardize the life of that girl... Gregson: Intentionally, of course not. We're talking about a kid here, a kid that's been traumatized, maybe even brainwashed. Holmes: A kid who wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for me. Gregson: What, oh, you think that gives you the right to question him? You're a consultant, not a cop. Holmes: And given the very real possibility that the young man is accessory to several horrific crimes, maybe "not a cop" is exactly what he needs at the moment, hmm? Ten minutes, that's all I ask. Gregson: You've got five. Holmes: Hello, Adam. My name is Sherlock. You can probably tell from my accent, I'm not a New York City police officer, nor am I a psychiatrist, which makes me the only person you're going to talk to today who isn't going to lie to you. The people who were here earlier, Detective Bell and the others, they told you that the man who took you seven years ago was a bad man, that he hurt you, abused you. But they don't know the whole story, do they? He also took care of you, kept a roof over your head, taught you to drive. Loved you. My father packed me off to boarding school when I was just eight years old. I was a little bit of a know-it-all, well, I was a massive know-it-all, actually. Turned a lot of the other boys at the school against me, hmm, especially one by the name of Anders Larson. Now, over the course of the next year, Anders took his anger out on me in, uh, myriad cruel and terrible ways, nothing close to what you experienced, of course, but it seemed worth mentioning. You see the more Anders hurt me the more I felt gratitude that he was actually paying attention to me. That in, in tormenting me, he was attempting to correct what I knew to be wrong with myself. One day, after a particularly brutal lesson left me in a very bad way, a teacher asked me who was responsible. I said I'd fallen down the stairs. Funny, the things that we do for the people that we care about. Uh, did he do that to you, the person that you care about? Adam Kemper: No. I was in my room the other night and it was hot. I tried to open the window, but it was stuck, and my hand went through the pane. And he took care of me. He put a bandage on it. Holmes: Of course he did. He loves you. Adam: He does everything for me. He comes home every morning and brings me doughnuts. He doesn't need to, but he does. I never even asked... Gregson: No more questions. He lawyered up. Holmes: Via telepathy? Gregson: Via his parents. They're here. Barry Kemper: I'm sorry, I know you have questions for Adam, but come on, you think we don't know that you think Adam may have had something to do with what happened to the other children? Gregson: It's a possibility, yes, which is why we'd like to keep talking to him, to see if he can help us find Mariana Castillo. Watson: I can't imagine what they're going through right now. Holmes: Hmm? Watson: By the way, that was really something back there with Adam. The story about your bully was really very moving. Any of it true? Holmes: I went to boarding school. Kamper Family Attorney: You should know, Captain, that we've already broached the possibility of an immunity deal with the district attorney's office. Adam would be given immunity for any crimes he may have been compelled to commit by the individual who took him, and in exchange he'd tell you everything he knows about the man. He'll also help you try and locate the bodies of the victims that were never recovered. We expect to hear back from the D.A. by morning. Bell: By then it may be too late for the Castillo girl. Attorney: Which is why we very much hope that you'll support our proposal. Gregson: Excuse me, I'm sorry. Gregson: Yes? Holmes: Support the proposal, don't support it. It doesn't matter. My conversation with Adam may have been aborted, but it was far from a total waste. Gregson: What do you mean? Holmes: Adam said the Balloon Man comes home every morning with doughnuts. That means he works nights. It doesn't sound like much, I know, but it's more than we previously knew about him. Gregson: And you think you can run with that? Holmes: From a drop of water, a logician can infer the possibility of an Atlantic or a Niagara without having seen or heard of either one. I've got my drop of water. Now allow me to infer. Watson: He worked nights, you think that's really going to be enough to identify the Balloon Man? Holmes: Of course not, but it's a start. Our previous suspect pool included virtually every man in the city. Now it's been reduced to every man who works nights. Watson: You're gonna stay up all night again, aren't you? Holmes: You can't stop me, Watson. I don't care how I look, I don't care how I smell, I'm not going to sleep. Watson: Well, I have no intention of stopping you. I mean, what you're doing to your body isn't healthy, you know, especially for someone so fresh out of rehab, but I get it. I will happily loan you my ears if it means getting Mariana Castillo back alive and well. Holmes: I appreciate that, but at the moment I do not require a listener. I will have nothing to talk about until I've reviewed all of these files. Watson: All right, then, I'll take a box. Holmes: No, no, no, it doesn't work like that. My brain is the filter all this needs to go through, not yours. I need to read every word, study every image. Watson: All right, then, I'll help you stay awake. Holmes: All right, you know where the coffee is. Watson: It's not about the coffee. Holmes: Whoa, then, what are you proposing? Watson: I'm gonna teach you something, a little trick that I learned back in medical school. Holmes: This is what they taught you in medical school? Watson: When I was cramming for a test and I was tired, I would do a hundred of these, get my blood pumping. Kept me from falling asleep. I was valedictorian. I'm just saying. Holmes: Watson! He changed jobs. Watson: Who? Holmes: The Balloon Man. A few years ago, the FBI worked a theory that he was an exterminator. Adam Kemper's family had had their house fumigated just the week before he disappeared. Holmes (phone): Yes, I'm still holding, yes. Holmes: No one thought much of it until these, were taken right outside the homes of victims two and three. Watson: Oh, both neighbors had their houses tented. Holmes: In 2008, the FBI interviewed all 35 of the employees of the company that fumigated the Kempers' home, but failed to elicit any strong suspects. They eventually discarded their theory when no connection to extermination was found in or around the homes of the subsequent victims. See, the thing is, I think they were onto something. I think the Balloon Man was an exterminator, but then changed jobs between victims three and four. See this? It's a copy of The Investor's Post. You can tell from the distinctive salmon-colored paper stock. The parents of victim number four had a subscription. As do the parents of Mariana Castillo, the most recent victim. I saw one in their kitchen yesterday. The parents of victims five, six and seven are not subscribers, but have neighbors who are. Watson: So the Balloon Man was an exterminator, now he delivers papers at night for The Investor's Post. Holmes: Mmm, he identified his first three victims through his first job, his last five victims through his second. I'm on the phone with the paper now. They're telling me the name of the man responsible for the Castillos' route. They think I'm a subscriber, looking to send a belated tip. Holmes (phone): Yes, yes, hello. Thank you so much. Thank you. Holmes: See any familiar names? Watson: Samuel Abbott. Gregson: Abbott's mother is listed as the owner of the apartment, but she died six months ago. He put it as his home address the last time he renewed his driver's license. ESU Officers: Clear! Clear! Clear! ESU Sgt O'Donnell: We got nothing, Captain. The place is clean. Holmes: What's that? Gregson: Head back to that room. Bell: "Congrats." To who? Holmes: To us. For finding his place. Gregson: What is that on the balloon? O'Donnell: Bringing it to you, Captain. Samuel Abbott (video): You have something that's mine. You have Adam. You know who I am and you know what I can do. I've already killed six people. If you haven't released my son back to me by noon tomorrow, you can make it seven. Sara Castillo: Please. Make the trade. Bring us back our daughter. Gregson: I'm afraid it's not that simple, Mrs. Castillo. The department can't trade one victim for another. Robert Castillo: Is that what you really think Adam Kemper is? I saw on the news this morning, the D.A. offered him an immunity deal. If he's just a victim, what does he need immunity from? Gregson: Given the givens in this case, the D.A. felt he had to offer that deal. Now, I know the media has broached the possibility of Adam being involved somehow in the Balloon Man's crimes, but we haven't confirmed any of that yet. Robert: So how long do we wait for you to confirm something? Um, an hour, a day, a week? I mean, he just said we only have till noon tomorrow. Gregson: Mr. Castillo... Sara: Has anybody asked Adam Kemper what he wants? He's 19, an adult. If he was really some sort of partner to this monster, then isn't it possible that he wants to go back? Holmes: Victims of horrific abuse are often protective of their abusers. It doesn't mean we should send them back for seconds. Gregson: No, listen, the immunity deal is on the table. Robert: Then why hasn't he taken it? Gregson: Because he's been traumatized. He's hardly speaking, even to his own parents. Robert: Come on. If anything happens to our daughter, your head is the one we're going to be calling for in the press. Watson: So now what? Holmes: We go back to the files. We see if there's any clue that we missed as to where Abbott is keeping the girl. Gregson: That's one option. Holmes: You have another? Gregson: When Adam's parents hired a lawyer, they put a wall between him and the NYPD. No cop can talk to him. No cop. Holmes: That's interesting. And where is he now? Watson: What? Holmes: I'm sore. Only did about a thousand squats last night. Listen, I wanted to thank you for all of your help. Watson: Well, always happy to listen. Holmes: No, no, no, actually, Watson, I was the one who listened last night, and I heard someone who was willing to accommodate the difficult process of a difficult person for the greater good. It's a rare quality, in my experience. I may even listen to you again in the future. Not your sobriety twaddle, of course. Just your thoughts on cases. Holmes: Thank you for seeing me, Adam. Adam: You're the only one who gets it. Holmes: Well, you know by now we've identified him, don't you? Samuel Abbott? Are you worried about him? Adam: He's my Dad. Holmes: Is that why you've been hesitant to sign the immunity deal? Adam: Would you turn in your Dad? Holmes: I'd trade my Dad for a Tic Tac, but that's my Dad, not yours. The sooner we find him, the better off he'll be. He hasn't hurt Mariana Castillo yet. You loved him but you didn't love what he did. I can tell. He did make you help with the others, didn't he? Adam: He's my Dad. Holmes: That doesn't mean it wasn't hard. Is that why you didn't want to sign the deal? Because you don't feel you deserve it? Adam: I never, I never knew why it was so important to him. But I loved him. And when he asked me to take, help take the others, then I told him I'd do that. Holmes: It's okay. Adam: No, it isn't. Nothing's okay. I'm so confused. I don't know what I'm supposed to do. You told me the other day that you'd never lie to me. Holmes: That's right. Adam: So tell me. If I sign that deal, and if I tell you where you can find him, do you think it'll make up for the things I've done? Holmes: No, I don't. Six other children are dead, thanks to your Dad. To whatever degree you assisted him, you will never get their blood off your hands. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't try. Adam: Okay. I'll sign the papers. I'll tell you where we live. That's where you'll find the girl. O'Donnell: Drop the gun and let her go. Now! Don't do it! Abbott: Tell Adam I'm sorry. Watson: Mariana's okay. She's terrified. She hasn't been hurt. You can go home, get some rest. You okay? Holmes: He wasn't what I was expecting. Watson: Who? Holmes: Samuel Abbott. He dominated Adam. I was expecting a more virile man. Just seems a bit feeble. And that back brace. Watson: Three scars. Means major surgery, multiple operations, fused vertebrae. Makes sense that he would've needed Adam to help him get around. Holmes: Do you hear that? Watson: What? What? My God. This is where Adam slept? What's wrong? Holmes: That man out there, Abbott, is not the Balloon Man. Holmes: Hello, Adam. Adam: Mr. Holmes, what are you doing here? Holmes: Thought it was time for another one of our little chats. Adam: How did you get into my room? Holmes: Through the window. Somehow I managed to open it without slicing my hand. You said that you cut your hand trying to open a window in your room. Your room. Not Samuel Abbott's. So imagine my surprise when I saw your room today. Two lamps, proper bed, television. Virtual palace compared to Samuel's room. All he had was a stained mattress and a tattered sheet. Adam: No, you're talking about my room. That's where he made me sleep. Holmes: No, don't lie to me, Adam, not again. You told me when we met that you injured your hand trying to open a window in your room, the master bedroom. That's where the broken pane was. Samuel Abbott was not the Balloon Man. You were. Adam: Mr. Holmes... Holmes: I, I, I examined the pillows in the larger room, I found nothing but short, dark hair, your hair. On the pillows in the smaller room, I found nothing but Samuel's hair, stringy and gray. You occupied the master bedroom because you were the master. You tricked me, Adam. That doesn't happen very often. I thought you were a dullard. You're actually quite brilliant. It must take a huge intellect for a boy to turn the tables on the man who abducted him. Adam: You have no idea. Holmes: Whose idea was it to take more children? Was it his or was it yours? Adam: I'd just turned 14, I was lonely. Holmes: No. What you wanted was to make someone else the victim, hurt them like you'd been hurt. Adam: No, you're forgetting the parents. They're the ones that I got to see on TV, crying, begging the monster who took their son or daughter to give them back. See, when Samuel took me, it was very difficult at first. I had to put up with a lot. But he did let me watch TV, and so I got to see my parents on the news at least once a day, pleading with Samuel to let me go. And the funny thing was, he wasn't the least bit affected. But I was. Holmes: You got off on it. Adam: I really found myself. And as for how I turned the tables on him, let's just say it's not very difficult when your captor has an IQ south of 90. Holmes: Psychological abuse followed by physical, all very standard. Adam: And the trade he proposed yesterday, Mariana for me, wasn't even his idea. It was a contingency plan. If I ever got caught, he was supposed to use the hostage that we had, or take a new one, to secure my release. And the idiot didn't even have a clue that the police would never go for that in a million years. Holmes: But you knew it would give them incentive to offer you an immunity deal. Must have taken everything you had not to jump on that deal the first time it came up. Adam: Are you here to kill me, Mr. Holmes? Because I have to admit I find the possibility very exciting. I'm gonna go brush my teeth now. I don't think you're gonna be here when I get back. If it's any consolation, I don't think I'm gonna stay in this city much longer. I think it's time to move someplace else, meet new people. I'm gonna miss our little chats. Watson: I just got an e-mail from my friend from the D.A.'s office. He said the language from the immunity agreement is pretty ironclad. "Adam Kemper is immune from prosecution..." Holmes: "For any crimes committed in consort with Samuel Abbott, aka the Balloon Man." Yes, I'm quite familiar with the phrasing. I've been reviewing it myself. Watson: Look, what that kid did is disgusting. I hate the fact that he's out there in the world. But you did make a difference. You saved Mariana, and you told the police what kind of person Adam Kemper really is. Holmes: I handed a psychopath a get-out-of-jail-free card. Watson: You're not the only one he fooled. If you're trying to blow off steam, squats would be cheaper. Easier on the decor, too. Holmes: I can't. I overdid last night and pulled a muscle. My back's been sore all day. Watson: I said a hundred squats, not a thousand. Holmes: Back pain. Yeah. Thank you. Dear sweet back pain. Holmes: Morning, Adam. You picturing those two begging for their son's life? Adam: No, it's nice out, I'm just passing the time. You look kind of tired. Holmes: I'm getting that a lot lately. Listen, before you leave town, I wanted to ask you about William Crawford. Your fifth victim. Parents called him Billy. Adam: Mmm. Holmes: You abducted him on April 3, 2009. Adam: Right, yeah. Blond boy. He cried a lot. Holmes: Well, yes, I'm sure you could reminisce all day. Still, not your cleanest work. The police found his body on April 7. Adam: Yeah, we buried him deeper after that. Actually, let me be clear about that, in case you have somebody listening to our conversations. Mr. Abbott made me bury them deeper after that. Holmes: Whoever had the idea, I think it was a good one, because the police found skin under William's fingernails. Definitely came from one of his attackers. We ran it against Samuel Abbott's DNA this morning. Adam: And let me guess it didn't match. Is this supposed to be scaring me? It's probably mine. So what? I have an immunity deal. Holmes: Yes, you do. You cannot be prosecuted for any crimes committed, quote, "in consort with," unquote, the Balloon Man. Thing is Samuel Abbott broke three vertebrae in his back on March 23, 2009. That's why he couldn't work as an exterminator anymore. That's why he wore a back brace. The surgery had him in hospital for three weeks. I believe he was in traction the entire time. Difficult to abduct and murder a young boy when you're feeling well, I'd imagine. From a hospital bed, I'd say it was impossible. Adam: I have an immunity deal. Holmes: For crimes committed in consort with Samuel Abbott. But you took William Crawford on your own, didn't you? What happened? You get bored while your playmate was in hospital? Actually, you know what, don't tell me, 'cause I don't care. Adam: Are those for me? Holmes: I called them right after your parents told me you were in the park. You're welcome to try and run. I've recently started developing my core, you know? Could use a bit of a workout. Oh, no. A fair fight's not really your speed, is it? Adam: It was only one murder. And Samuel abused me. I'll be out soon. Holmes: What are you doing? Watson: Depriving you of all stimuli. It's time for you to get some sleep. Holmes: What? No. No, no, no, no. No. Right after you solve a case you're flushed with success. We should double down on work. Watson: We? Holmes: You, me, Angus. Some combination of the three. You already know I favor you. Mmm? Hey! No! No! This is...right now I'm full of energy, ideas, momentum. What kind of tea is that? Watson: Drowsy-time tea. It detoxifies and cleanses the system. Holmes: Now is the moment when a true detective digs into his old files. You see everything with a new light. You'll see. I'm gonna solve three cases by nightfall. Category:Transcripts